Interior Ministry announces tender for drone-killer system

The Czech Interior Ministry has announced a public tender for the
development of an anti-drone (or drone-killer) system capable of taking out
anonymous drones invading no-fly zones or other restricted areas. The deal,
website Ekonomický deník reported, is worth 58 million crowns. To date,
the Czech police reportedly do not have a comprehensive system capable of
sending rogue drones to the ground.

Photo: ČT24
The last few years have seen an increase in the number of privately-owned
drones and with it the possibility of security threats. While drones can
and are used for the broader public good – in everything from defense,
emergency services, logistics, agriculture, communications and
entertainment – like any tool they can be twisted to serve dubious or
even nefarious purposes: from intrusion and spying over private property or
restricted air space to the potential plotting of or use in a terrorist
attack, a threat highlighted by former British prime minister David Cameron
warned earlier this year.

Jakub Karas, Photo: LinkedIn
The rapid spread of drones has strongly accented the need for a response
in the Czech Republic - the development of a surveillance system capable of
taking down drones representing a threat. Numerous such systems, of course,
exist already, capable of detecting, identifying, tracking and neutralising
potential threats. The last includes jamming systems and even also means of
taking control of an invading drone, mini-copter, or other small
remote-controlled aircraft. The system the Czech police would opt for would
apparently be mobile, guarding perimeters at set areas. In time, the
anti-drone system would also be used not only by the police but also the
prison service and the military.

Jakub Karas is the director of the Czech Unmanned Aerial Alliance; he
confirmed on Czech Radio that drones represent a number of threats. It
underlines the point that the police and other security forces need
effective countermeasures.

Photo: Martin Melichar / ČRo“[Drones can be used for spying or breach security] at areas where large
numbers of people gather, or even secret areas, or sensitive sites whose
operation could be threatened.”

These include airports, military airports and other bases, and
specifically in Prague, the seat of the president Prague Castle, which is a
no-fly zone. Since the beginning of this year 15 drone pilots in the Czech
Republic were fined for the improper use of drones, either operating the
aircraft without registration or failing to heed existing regulations. The
minimum fine for the misuse of drones is 50,000 crowns.